


Hidden green eyes

by Flowerpot89



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Car Accidents, Child Abuse, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Protective Avengers, Protective Tony Stark, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2019-11-19 12:20:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18135671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flowerpot89/pseuds/Flowerpot89
Summary: An open door and an accident with a car is all it takes for Harriets life to change. Follow her on her road to recovery.This is a story about an abused little girl that finally gets help and has the chance to flourish. There will be many bumps on the road, but with the help of some superheroes she will be able to handle it, right?





	1. A Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and all the other characters belong to Marvel. 
> 
> I know I shouldn't begin a new story when I still have two unfinished, but I can't get this out of my head and currently I am at over 8.000 words.  
> English is not my native language and I don't have a Beta reader. 
> 
> Some informatiosn for the story. There will be no wizarding world. It is just a story about an abused girl that gets help from our beloved superheroes. 
> 
> This idea can be found as a plot bunny here, there are so many other interesting plots, please read them :)
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/16775065/chapters/42424415
> 
> I hope you enjoy this story, please leave me some feedback :)

Silently the small girl opened the wooden frontdoor of the run-down house she was forced to live in for the last three years. Three years of continuous abuse. If her uncle had a good day, she would only be verbally abused and slapped a worst. If her uncle had a bad day, he would either use his fists or one of his leather belts to beat his niece to a bloody pulp. 

Three years of broken skin and broken bones later, this was her first chance to get away. Maybe the first and last chance before her uncle would finally success with breaking her mind.

It hasn't always been this bad. Before her aunt had left her with her whale of an uncle, she had a comparative normal life. Sure she was used by them as a servant for most of the chores in the house and she knew that it wasn't right but she would always go to bed with some bread and cheese in her belly and she would always have something to drink. But after Petunia had moved out of the house in Surrey, England with her cousin, she was more like a slave for her uncle with a list of chores that was longer than her arm, every day. She had to keep the house clean and she had to cook for her uncle. Her only safehaven was her small cupboard under the stairs.

Soon after that her uncle had to move with his company, so the small girl was forced to leave everthing behind. Even her status as a servant. 

In America she had to do all the chores in the house, she had to cook two meals for her heavily overweighted uncle and she would never got the chance to eat a piece of the meals herself. If she was lucky, she would get some old bread every few days or some bruised apples, if her uncle felt the need to eat something more healthy than greasy bacon, but that was a rare occurrence. But that wasn't the only difference. In America she had no cupboard under the stairs or a cupboard or stairs. She only had a small ratty blanket and a place on the in the corner of the living room. 

Since she was five they had told her that she was too smart for her own good, a freak with too much brain. She was never allowed to be better in school than her cousin Dudley. It was hard, every time she had to play dumb or answer questions wrong, it had hurt her. It was always like someone, well her uncle, had punched her in her abdomen. She knew she had an high IQ, way higher than a normal kid should have and she had something they called an eidetic memory. She could remember everything she had ever read. Another thing that made her uncle angry, angry that he wasn't able to sire such a smart child. So he made his niece pay. As another punishment, she was never allowed to leave the house since the move. No school to go to and no place to escape her uncle. 

At first is uncle started with name-calling, later with physical abuse. The girl knew her uncle wasn't a pedophile, but she knew how much the older man enjoyed her begging, but she simply couldn't help it, she always hoped that someday she could stop his uncle with it. She knew how much the man liked how she would cower before him, how she would plead with him to have mercy. Mercy wasn't something she would ever receive. But in her pain and fear she wasn't able to stop her whimpering and begging. The man was a sick man, there was always a smile on his face when he whipped the girls back bloody with his favorite leather belt. 

Last night, when he came home from a meeting with his boss and a date with a bottle of whiskey after that, he forgot to lock the frontdoor. This was the first time in the last three years, that he forgot to lock it. It was the first chance the small girl had to leave this cruel prison and she took it. With only the clothes on her body she left. It was cold outside and her shirt and the baggy pants weren't made for the winter breeze. The shirt sat uncomfortable over the open wounds from last nights round with the belt, but there was no time to think about it. She needed to get out, to get away from this house and her uncle. 

She carefully closed the door behind her and then took off as fast as her small feet could take her. The only fuel for her emaciated body was adrenaline. Her heart was beating fast and heavy in her chest and her lungs began to burn. The bruise around her neck wasn't helping either. She wasn't used to running and her body felt heavier and heavier with every step she took. Every few seconds she looked over her shoulder, the fear obviously etched onto her face. Her uncle would kill her, if he would catch her. Of course her uncle would never catch her, but she felt too much fear to think straight. 

She never watched where she ran and she never saw the car when she ran out of the small alley and over the street. The impact felt hard to her small frame and pain shot through her body before she fell to the ground. The only thing she was able to safe from the impact with the ground was her head. Years of training with an abusive man teach you how you need to fall to keep your head safe. The last thing she heard before darkness took her was the opening of a door and the shout of a man through a speaker.

"What the fuck happened, Happy?"

_______

Tony was in his lab, working on another version of his Starkphone, when he heard the alarm go off. Every car from his carpool had a security system that would alert Friday if something had happened and right now the alarm from the shiny black sportscar, one of Tonys favorites, was blaring loudly. He knew that this was the car Happy was driving at the moment. The older man was on his way back home from a delivery a few hours away. 

"Friday, locate Happy and show me the video surveillance." 

He saw the last minute from all of the cameras that where placed on and inside the car. He heard Happy humming while driving at a normal speed when suddenly a small kid ran on the street. Even though Happy stepped on the brakes immediately, even before he himself had seen the kid, he hit the child. It was only a small impact, the car was nearly at a stillstand right before the impact, but the kid fell to the ground and from what Tony could see was now unconscious. 

"Friday, connect to Happys speakers." A few seconds later the AI confirmed the connection. 

"What the fuck happened, Happy?" was the first thing that came to his mind. "Go check if the kid is allright, I'll be there asap." While telling this his shocked driver, his Iron Man suit was forming around his body. 

"Cap? Cap, come on old man answer me." 

"What is it?" Came the gruff response from Steve. 

"I need you and Bruce to get the medical bay ready, Happy had an accident." And with that he jumped out of the Tower and into the night sky. 

It was only a few minutes later, that he landed next to his still shocked driver and the small child besides him. He turned up his visor and kneeled down next to the child.

"How is she? And how are you?"

"I... I don't know. I might have killed her.. I can't feel a pulse." Happy was nearly in tears.

"Calm down, she is alive, Friday can feel her pulse and her heartbeat. Get back in the car, I'll take the child to the Tower and let Bruce look her over."

Happy nodded and slowly made his way over to the driverside of the car. If Tony hadn't seen the impact with his own eyes, he wouldn't be able to tell that the car just had an accident, there was no damage, not even a small dent or scratch in the varnish. He made his way back to the tower in full speed with the too light and hurt child in his arms.

When he arrived back at the Stark Tower, Bruce and Steve were waiting for him. Steve carfully took the child out of Tonys arms and went over to the next bed, where he laid her down before he turned around and looked back at Tony. 

"Care to explain what happened? I thought Happy had an accident?"

Tony, who was now back out of his Iron Man suit wasn't able to look away from the child on the bed. 

"Happy is ok, I think. The kid ran in front of his car and he wasn't able to stop it in time. Bruce, is she alright?"

Bruce, who was taking the Shirt off of the small girl was barely able to hold back his anger.

"Whoever this girls parents are, she won't go back." Two swirling green and brown eyes looked up into two frowning faces. Bruce was fighting a battle with Hulk, but the girl was needing him and so the Hulk was holding back. 

"Oh fuck, what the hell happened to her?" Came from Tony whereas Steve was only able to gasp at the sight of the bloody and bruised skin on the girls body. 

"Tony, Cap, I want you to get out of here. Work on your tech or something like that but I need to work on her alone, I am only able to hold Hulk back for so long if you keep up with that." growled Bruce. 

Both men nodded and left the medical station. Tony went into his lab to take a closer look at the recordings of the accident again and Steve went to the common floor to talk to the other Avengers. 

Two hours, a few more worried Avengers and an angry Tony later, Bruce came to the common floor and fell exhausted into one of the couches. His face in his hands, breathing heavy. He was still fighting Hulk and he knew he needed a few hours for himself after a quick talk to his team. 

"The girl is stable." His left hand gripped the bridge of his nose "She has a broken wrist and two broken ribs. Her back and chest are a mess, she has countless scars and fresh wounds mixed with a lot of bruises and she is way too thin. Whoever this girl is, she was abused, heavily. I..I need to hulk out, excuse me." And with that he ran out of the common area, into the elevator. 

The other team members sat around the room, no one was able to say something. Clint was holding one of Natashas hands in his own, both knew exactly what abuse can do to ones body and soul. Bucky was standing in the kitchen, gripping the counter with both of his hands, the knuckles of his flesh hand white from the tight grip. Steve was sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. Happy sat besides him, still fighting with the aftermath from his earlier shock. Tony was pacing behind said couch, before he walked over to the elevator and made his way to the medical bay. 

He looked over the small girl in the big medical bed. Bruce had clothed her with a new shirt, from the look of it, it was one of Tonys shirts he had stored in one of the cupboards on this floor. She looked even paler than a few hours earlier.

"Fri, give me an update on her." Tony told his AI. 

"She is stable at the moment and needs a lot of rest. Her heartbeat and pulse are normal. Mr. Banner gave her some painkillers."

Tony sat down besides the bed and took the small hand of the girl in his own and began to rub circles on the back of it. 

"Who are you kiddo?" He sighed and then stood up to go to his own floor, it was way past midnight after all and the girl wouldn't be up so soon. 

"Fri, I want to be informed, when she wakes up."

"Yes, sir." came the response from the AI. 

_______

The morning came, way too early for all the residents of the Stark Tower. Natasha was sitting at the kitchen counter, a big mug of coffee in her hands and a bowl with fruits in front of her. Clint was sitting on the fridge, eating some cereals. Bucky was standing in front of one of the big windows, looking out to the buzzing city beneath him. Steve was on the same spot of the couch as yesterday, elbows on his knees again. He was looking at an invisible spot before him, his face void of emotions. He knew that Bruce was already at the medical bay, looking after the girl. 

"Alright boys and girl, lets find out who the girl is." Was Tonys greeting. He went over to the kitchen and grabbed one grape out of Natashas bowl and plopped it inside of his mouth.

"Watch your hands Stark and get your own food." Was Natashas response. 

Tony winked at her and then made his way over to the elevator, followed by the rest of the Avengers.

When the doors of the elevators opened again, they were able to see Bruce pacing the floor. 

"So, how is our small friend this morning, big guy?" Was the first thing Tony asked. 

Bruce was startled by the voice, he was deep in thoughts. 

"Not really different compared to yesterday. Who can do this to a small child?" He was looking at Tony, frowning. His eyes were red rimmed and slightly swollen. He was looking like everybody else was feeling, miserable. 

While everyone of them was abused in their own ways, none of them had to endure so much at such a young age. Tonys parents weren't the best, neglecting him and name-calling at worst, but never had his father raised his hand against him. 

While they were talking in hushed tones a small whimper from the bed caught their attention. 

The girl began to move under the blanket. A deep frown on her face, her eyes squeezed shut and her legs trashing under the blanket, like she was trying to get away from someone or something. 

"Please.. I'll do better.. please stop... please." The girl was begging an unseen enemy. 

Bruce went over to the girl, not really sure what to do, while the rest of the team stayed outside of the room. It would do no good, if they were all in the room when the girl opens her eyes.

"No, please... I'll be better uncle.. I promise.. please stop." Tears were running down the girls cheeks. 

Bruce carefully touched her shoulders. "Shhh.. you are safe. Calm down.. shhh." 

With a gasp the girl opened her eyes and immediately shrank into herself when she saw Bruce next to her.

"Hey, it's alright, you are safe." 

The girls eyes widened before she pulled her legs closer to her body, one of her hands wipping the tears away. 

"Whe-where am I?" she wasn't able to look at Bruce, only a small glance at the older man before she looked back at her knees again. She began to tremble and the tears kept on falling. 

Bruce knew that the girls heart was beating faster and faster, only mere seconds away from a panic attack, if her breathing was anything to go by. 

"You are at Stark Tower. Can you calm down for me? Follow my lead ok?" After a small nod from the girl Bruce began to show her a breathing technic to stop the panic attack.

Slowly, the girls breathing went back to normal. 

"Good, you are doing real good." Bruce assured the boy. "Can you tell me your name?" 

Again the response was only a small nod. Bruce was waiting patiently for the girl to tell him her name. The rest of the Avengers were now in another room and watching everything on a big screen. They all held their breath, wanting to know who the girl is. 

It was only a whisper, but they all heard it when the girl spoke. And when she looked up at Bruce, they all saw the impossible green eyes of the girl. 

"Harriet.. my name is Harriet Potter."


	2. A Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony meets Vernon and Harriet wakes up.
> 
> This is the longest chapter I have ever written.  
> I know that Harriet doesn't talk like a child, but remember, her only weapon was her brain and she never was able to be a kid. 
> 
> Please leave me some comments or kudos :)  
> I am working on the next chapter right now.

Tony was the first to react. Not one to waste time, he gave an order to his AI.

"Friday, give me everything that is available about Harriet Potter, fast."

"Everything is on the screen, sir." 

They all watched as more and more informations popped up on the screen. 

"Harriet Potter, 10 years old, her parents died in a car crash when she was two years old. She moved from England to America with her divorced uncle Vernon Dursley, who is her guardian. Well if that isn't the asshole that likes to beat a small girl. Cap, Buck you up for a visit?" Tony smirked evily, he knew exactly what he would do to this bastard.

Both men nodded and got up to get ready for visiting one Vernon Dursley. 

Tony was the first who was ready, bouncing on his feet and waiting for the two older men to get ready.

When they finally showed up, Tony was annoyed.

"Took you long enough, let's get this done." He walked over to the elevator in a fast pace and after Steve and Bucky entered it after him, he pushed the button for the car park. 

"Pepper scheduled our best lawyers for this situation. I won't allow him to come near Harriet again."

"Maybe we should show him what it's like to fight with someone of his own size. Beating a girl who is small like a doll." Bucky shoke his head. Both, he and Steve, grew up at a time, when something like that was frowned upon. They both knew that the world around them was different now, but they both would always be the two gentlemen they were.  
The drive to the part of town Vernon was living was tense and silent. All were thinking about the girl and how they would react to the adult they soon would meet. 

Tony huffed when they stopped in front of the run-down one story house. This wasn't a place a child should grow up, even without abusive relatives. 

They got out of the car and Tony went over to the door immediately. His patience wearing thin today. He knocked on the door, which creaked alarming under the pressure. Steve and Bucky looked at each other, both of them had a bad feeling.

It only took a few seconds before they heard someone stumbling over to the door, someone heavy. They were able to hear the harsh breathing through the door, whoever this was, he was angry. 

Tony knew instantly, when they were able to hear this guy breathing and walking around in his home, the neighbours should have been able to hear the abuse of the small girl. He knew his lawyers would take care of that. 

The man inside began to speak even before opening the door.

"You better come inside this instant you little piece of shit. You won't be able to run again when I am done ..." The door opened and the man stopped mid-sentence.

His eyes went wide when he saw who was standing at his door. He maybe kept his niece oblivious to the world around her, but he watched Tv every day, and he knew that one of the wealthiest men of the planet was standing right in front of him, flanked by not only one but two other Avengers. He knew the one with the short hair was Captain America, he wasn't sure who the other was, but he guessed it was the other super soldier. Barn or something like that.

"I am sorry you had to hear this, I am waiting for my niece to come home. Nothing but trouble the girl is. Always rebellious... but enough of the little run-away. To what to I owe the pleasure? I am sure you are not here to hear me talking about a waste of space, right?"

If the three mean were surprised by the rambling and heavily breathing man in front of them, they were not showing it. Steve and Bucky had a blank expression on their faces and Tony gave a small smirk before he began to answer. The man in front of them squirmed slightly under their gazes and tried to smooth out some crinkles on the worn and filthy shirt he was wearing.

"Well, Mr. Dursley" he drawled out the name "Harriet is exactly the reason why we are here. Wouldn't it be polite to invite us inside?"

Vernon swallowed heavily and only nodded before he stepped aside to let the men inside.

"Please excuse the mess, my niece always leaves behind a chaos."

He got no verbal response as the men walked inside of the house. It was as sordid inside as it was on the outside. This was definitely not a place for a small child. There were beer bottles all around the place and some empty whiskey bottles on the kitchen counter. The place was clean otherwise, well as clean as a dilapidated house as this could ever be. There was a stack of neatly folded clothes in the basket next to the washing machine, and besides of the alcohol, the kitchen was spotless. Tony knew that this was the work of the small girl that was currently recovering in his tower. 

"So, Mr. Dursley, tell me about your niece." 

Said man looked at them, clearly not knowing why these men wanted to talk about his niece.

"Well.. umm.." he swallowed "what do you want to know?"

"You could begin with all her bruises and how she got them."

Vernon Dursley visibly paled and he began to sweat. 

"She always looks for trouble.. always tussling with the other kids around here. She is the biggest klutz I know, maybe she fell down the stairs or something like that."

"You think she fell down the stairs? And which stairs exactly? The ones your house doesn't possess?"

Sweat was running down Vernons face, he knew he had no chance to convince his uninvited guests, that his niece was indeed clumsy and not simply abused. 

"You know, I don't have the time to watch her every minute. When she hurts herself throughout the day, it is not my business."

Buckys metal hand was clenched to a fist and the man was barely able to hold back his anger about the uncaring way this man was talking about a child, the child he was the guardian of. A child he should have loved like it was his own.

"Mr. Dursley, when your niece is hurting, this is your business and finding the bottom of this should be your only concern. But maybe, she isn't as much a klutz as you want me to believe she is and her wounds were inflicted by a person, maybe someone older than her with much more strenght? What do you think Mr. Dursley?" Tony told him like the busines man he was. He was only able to act like that for so long and his patience was wearing thin for a second time that day. Normaly he would have handled every situation with much more sarcasm but helping the young girl was a delicate mission and everything had to work out a certain way for him to be able to get her away from this bastard.

Again the man only swallowed and looked a little lost. When there was a knock at the door, Tony stepped in front of Vernon.

"Mr. Dursley, you now have two options. Option one, you stick to your story and my lawyers, who are standing behind this door" his right hand gestured to the wooden front-door "will call the police and you can tell them why I have a heavily abused girl laying in my medical bay oooor" he smirked at Vernons shocked expression "option number two, you will sign the documents my lawyers have in their too expensive briefcases. What option will it be?"

Vernon opened his mouth a few times without saying a thing. When another knock was to be heard, he finally talked.

"What documents?"

Tony grinned, and turned around to open the door for his lawyers. 

"Please come in, gentlemen." 

Three men in expensive tuxedos came through the door, wasting no time, one of them went over to the kitchen counter and opened his briefcase and took out a stack of papers.

"Mr. Dursley, we are here to let you sign the papers to transfer you guardianship of one Harriet Potter over to Mr. Tony Stark. I belief Mr. Stark told you what would happen otherwise?"

The man only nodded, still looking puzzled. 

"Good. The moment you sign those papers, you aren't allowed to get near your niece again, ever. Do you understand the severity of your actions and the magnitude of the offer from Mr. Stark? He could have had you arrested immediately."

Again only a nod but they all saw the hatred in the mans eyes. 

"Alright, when you have my signature on these documents, you will leave me alone?"

The lawyer nodded "Indeed."

Vernon signed the papers in mere seconds. When he was done and the papers back inside of the briefcase Tony clapped his hands together and looked at his lawyers.

"Alright gentlemen, thank you for your time. Let's get out of this shithole, I think I can already feel some critters crawl up my body." He made a disgusted face and turned around to grin at Vernon. "It was a pleasure making business with you, but you have to excuse me, I have a small girl in my tower that I need to tend to."

He signaled to the two super soldiers to follow him outside. He wasn't spending another minute inside of this house. Vernons face was red with anger, but none commented on it. The man wasn't wealthy enough to make them problems in the future. Everything was waterproof.

They returned to the tower just before lunch. 

 

____

 

Bruce was still at the medical bay, the girl was asleep again and he was working his way through some papers. 

The girl was a restless sleeper, always fumbling with the blanket and whimpering every now and then. It was heartbreaking. 

He looked up, when he heared the elevator stopping at this floor. Tony came out of it, after the doors opened. His eyes were drawn to the girl immediately before he went to the desk where Bruce was standing and looked over his shoulder at the papers in said mans hands. 

"Harriet is now official my ward. I want only the best for her Bruce."

"She is sleeping right now. Took me long enough to calm her back down. Tony, I don't know how long I can fight against the Hulk. It makes me so angry, that there is someone out there, who would harm a child like that." 

He turned around and looked Tony straight in the eyes. There was still a lingering green in Bruce's eyes and Tony could only imagine how hard it is to keep the monster contained. Bruce was a man full of emotions and sometimes he wasn't able to deal with them and every time his emotions overhelmed him, the Hulk would come out. Tony wrapped his arms around the man in front of him and hugged him tight. Bruce sobbed against Tony's shoulder before he inhaled deeply and told Tony in a small voice.

"I am ok. Thank you Tony."

Tony nodded. 

"I ordered your favorite Pizza and it should be here soon, will you join us?" 

This time Bruce nodded.

"How long do you think will she need to stay here?" 

"At least for the rest of today and the night. When she thinks she is ready to meet the rest, I will help her move to another floor."

"When you want me to help, just tell Friday."

Both fell silent again and Tony watched Bruce read for a few more minutes before Friday told them, that the takeout was to be delivered in a few minutes. They made their way to the common floor and when the food was delivered, they all sat around the big table, all with their own food in front of them and with their minds miles away. When Tony was halfway through his meal, he began to tell the other Avengers about the meeting with Vernon Dursley. He showed them the recordings of said meeting which was filmed by the small camera inside of his glasses. 

Natasha and Clint were disgusted by the man and his behavior. Buckys hands were clenched into fists again and Steve whose face was again void of emotions was gripping the fork tightly, nearly bending it.

The rest of the meal was spent in a silent and tense atmosphere, similar to the atmosphere on the drive to Vernon Dursleys house. They were all relieved, that Tony was now Harriets new guardian but at the same time worried, if the man was stupid enough to try something later. They would all protect the kid. 

 

________

 

It was half a week later, when little Harriet was finally ready to leave the medical bay. 

Bruce and Tony were the only two people that went into her room in that time. Bruce as her doctor and Tony as her new guardian. Most of the time, she was too tired to stay awake for more than a few minutes in a row. Tony still had to talk to her about the changes in her life. The other Avengers were all anxious, they wanted to meet the girl but on the other hand they wouldn't want to scare her. It was decided that she would move onto the floor of Steve and Bucky, it was the closest to Tonys floor and one of them was always around. Friday would always monitor her, but human contact was way more important for her healing and Tony was away too often to have her move into his floor. 

Tony was standing in the doorway, when Harriet woke up on the fourth day. When she was finally fully awake, he knocked on the door, to alert her that he was standing there. 

Her whole body jumped at the sound of the fist knocking on the door and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?" Was his first question before he walked into her room and sat down on the chair next to her bed. 

"G-good, thank you." She looked at him and then sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and began to chew on it. A sign that she was nervous.

"What is it kid?" Tony asked, still smiling at her. 

"When do I have to go back?" She asked him almost inaudible.

"That is something I have to talk with you about. Do you know what happened to you, before I brought you here?"

"I-i ran away and I wasn't looking where I was running to. I think I was hit by a car. But I don't know, its kind of blurry." She looked up at him with her wide eyes "I am sorry."

"For what?" He asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Because I caused some inconveniences" 

"Don't worry, everything is alright and my driver and even the car are fine. Why were you running?"

She looked at her hands in her lap, her lip back between her teeth. It took her some moments before she finally began to tell him more of what has happened that night. 

"He forgot to lock he door."

"Who forgot it and why was it locked, sweetheart?" Tony leaned closer to her and took one of her hands in his own. He ignored the slight flinch of the girl and began to rub soothing circles on the back of her hand with his own thumb. 

"My uncle. He has the only key. I haven't left the house since we moved there. I wasn't even allowed to go to school." She looked so very sad when she told him about the school part. 

"So you took your chance and ran away?"

She nodded and breathed a small "yes".

"Can you tell me why you had so many bruises on your body kiddo?" He knew this was important. His lawyers would watch their conversation later to collect more evidence against Vernon Dursley, just in case he was even more stupid than what they were thinking. The whole conversation was recorded by Friday. 

"He hates me for beeing smarter than him. He always told me I was bad, that it was my fault, that me and my smart mouth are trouble... but I know that are lies. Adults shouldn't lie, but he did it every time. He was always so mad at me and I wanted him to be proud of me, to love me, but he never was proud and I know he never loved me." She looked up at him with tears in her gorgeous green eyes. 

It pained Tony to make her thinking about the abuse, but he had to know. 

"And what did he do to you?"

She looked back at her hand before she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them with one arm. Her other hand was still in Tonys bigger one. 

"He would punch me or use his belt on my back." 

Tony squeezed the girls hand in comfort. 

"Can you tell me how often he would hurt you?" That was something he didn't want to hear, but they had to know. 

"Every day. It was always worse when he was drunk. Oh, god.. how long have I been here?"

Her breathing became shallow, she was working herself up and Tony needed to stop her, before it was becoming a panic attack.

"Calm down sweet girl. He won't come near you again." 

She looked at him confused, while Tony was still rubbing soothing circles on her hand. 

"While you were recovering, I went to your uncle and had a little talk with him."

She raised one of her eyebrows and Tony thought that she looked really cute. She was a beautiful child and he vowed to always make her feel beautiful, precious and loved.

"I kind of treated him to sign off his guardianship." Tony grinned "You are now official the ward of me, Tony Stark and you are now part of the Avengers family." He was really proud. Proud of everything he had built and proud to have so many amazing people around him. Amazing peope who would help him heal the broken soul in front of him. They would help him with giving her the childhood she deserves. And most important, they would all cherish her and shower her with love and affection. 

She narrowed her eyes and thought a few more moments before she asked him "why?" She wasn't sad that she had lost her uncle, without being asked if she wanted it. She was glad that someone took that decision away from her. Maybe she had finally found someone who cares. Sometimes she was shocked by her own reactions, she was way too mature for her age. Every other child would have cried and asked more questions and maybe would have felt betrayed by both men. But growing up without ever beeing allowed to act like a child and her high IQ ensured her mind was beyond her body in age. And the man sitting besides her gave her a feeling of beeing safe, another reason to listen to him and judge him and his decisions at a later time. 

"Because no one deserves to be treated like you were. You are a child and you deserve a childhood without violence." 

She nodded and fell quiet for some time. Her body was less tense now and her hand fell from around her knees to her side. 

"What do you expect of me? I am good at cooking and cleaning."

"Nonono, none of that child. You don't have to earn your keep in my house. The only thing I expect from you is that you will do your best in school. There.." Before he was able to tell her more, she interrupted him. Her eyes full of life and for the first time Tony was able to see something like exitement on her beautiful face.

"I am allowed to go to school?" She tilted her head to her side before she continued with wide eyes "I am sorry for interrupting you." And for the third time she was chewing on her lower lip and Tony thought for a few seconds that maybe she was afraid he would punish her for that. 

"No problem kiddo. I can understand that you are excited. As I said, you will have to do you best at school, but otherwise I want you to be a kid. Play games, have fun with the guys or a girly day with the ladies. Do you have questions?"

"So many" and for the first time she smiled. 

"Shoot 'em" Tony said with a smile of his own.

"Where to begin." She mumbled more to herself than to Tony. "Who are you?"

Tony chuckled, that was something he was expecting. While Vernon Dursley was aware who he was, the girl was oblivious. 

"My name is Tony Stark, but I know you already know that. I am a technician and researcher when I am at home and most people would say I am an excentric and sometimes a celebrity."

Harriets face was showing her amazement.

"You are a star? Like an actor or singer?" 

Tony laughed, oh he was already in love with the small girl. 

"More like a superhero."

Her eyes widened even more and for a few seconds Tony thought that they would fall out of her head. But before either of them could say more they heard soemone laughing at the door. Natasha was standing there, a teddy bear in her left hand and a plate with sandwiches in her right.

"Exaggerating like always Tones?" another laugh before she shoke her head and stepped inside of the room. "Bruce, your doctor, said you should eat something, so you'd be strong enough to survive Tony's ego." She smiled and offered the plate to the small girl. 

The girl giggled, and it was such a nice sound. 

"All of this is for me?" She asked Natasha before she took the plate with the hand that was held by Tony only seconds before. 

Natasha nodded and sat down on the foot of the bed and put the teddy bear next to the girl. Like Tony she ignored the girls flinch because of the movement. 

"Do you want to have a sandwich?" The girl looked at Natasha and then at Tony. Tony sighed inwardly, the girl was abused and half-starved and still would ask them if they wanted something of her food. Both adults shoke their head no and Harriet nodded before she took one of the sandwiches in her hand. 

"Can you tell me more about you and my new home?" She asked him before she began to nibble on the sandwiches. 

And so they talked. It took them a few hours to tell Harriet everything about the Avengers and the Stark Tower. They told Harriet about Bucky and Steve, her new floormates. About her doc, Bruce Banner who was a genius in his human form and a marvellous fighter in his Hulk form. Natasha told her about Clint and herself and about everything the Avengers had done in the last year to make sure earths population was safe. After that she said her goodbyes and left Harriet and Tony for the more personal talk again. 

Tony told her that she would be homeschooled for a few month, until she is ready to go to a school. He would look into public and private schools with her in the meantime and in the end it would be her decision which school she wants to go to. He told her about his private libraby and his private lab and how he would take her to both places soon.  
They talked till it was time for dinner and Tony now knew much more about his small ward. She was a small genius, with an IQ of 176 and an eidetic memory there was a chance that she would become smarter than Tony himself and wasn't that a scary thought? He would have to watch her like a hawk in her later teens. If she really was that precocious little girl he assumed her to be behind her walls of fear, she really could bring herself into trouble too many times for Tonys liking. But all in all he knew he made the right decisions a few nights ago.


	3. A Good Time

When it was time for dinner, Tony helped the small girl out of bed and into a new pair of jeans. Pepper had bought a whole wardrobe full of new clothes, jeans in all shades of blue and grey, t-shirts in every color possible and some hoodies and sweatshirts in grey, blue and black. Soon Harriet would be able to go on a shopping spree with Pepper, but for now the clothes were good enough even without knowing Harriets favorite color. Tony knew that Harriet probably would be overhelmed enough with all the new stuff in her new room. 

After a short walk to the elevator with Bruce in tow, they stopped at the common floor and left the elevator as soon as the doors were fully opened. Harriet was a bit tired after the walk, but she wanted to get to know the others so much, she ignored the feeling. 

The whole area was filled with a delicious smell, it was mouthwatering.

The big table was set for all the Avengers and there was even a plate for her. Tony helped her sit down in front of it and sat down besides her, Bruce was sitting on her other side.

When she looked up, she saw that everyone was smiling at her and the corners of her mouth formed a smile of her own. They all looked so kind at the moment and Harriet hoped that it would stay this way. All of the adults in the room, even Natasha, were well built with so much muscles. Her uncle was a weakling compared to them and she feared that she would die if they would punish her like her uncle did. Her smile faltered a bit and she sucked in her bottom lip again and looked a bit worried at Tony. 

"Yer alright kiddo?" A man with long brown hair and a.. was that really a metal arm? asked her. Her eyes went wide and she let go of her bottom lip, which began to tremble slightly. Would she die after one blow to her head with that arm? Would he use this arm to belt her? She was sure her back would break into two. She was barely aware that her breathing had changed, she sucked in so much air, but she wasn't able to fill her lungs. 

Suddenly her chair was turned to her right and she had two hands on her shoulders and someone, no not someone, this was Bruce, her doc, was talking to her.

"Shh Harriet, calm down... breath with me." She tried to mimic his breathing and slowly she felt able to breath again. "Good girl, everything is alright." He watched her breathing a few more moments.

"What was it about, sweet girl?"He asked after some minutes. All the other adults were silently watching the small girl recovering from her panic attack. 

She looked from Bruce over to Buckys arm and back to Bruce again a few times before she finally answered.

"I... I com-compared you all to my uncle... a-and.." Bruce tilted his head to the side, he had an idea what she was thinking a few minutes ago. "I am afraid I won't survive a punishment from any of you."

There were multiple gasps around the table and Bucky knew she was afraid because of their muscularly bodys and because of his arm. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to have her meet the whole crew at once, but now it was to late for going back, so he began.

"Doll, no one will punish you like your uncle has done. No one in this room will lay their hands on you in such an awful way. No one will beat you." He went around the table and knelt in front of her, taking her small hands into his own "You have may word and that from everyone else in this room, that you are safe." 

There were tears roling down her cheeks and Bucky oh so slowly brought his flesh hand to her face to wipe them away with his thumb. But even with his slow movements he saw the fear in her incredible green eyes and he wanted to go back to the filthy piece of shit that was responsible for the fear. 

"We will protect you doll. Everyone in this room will keep you safe, you hear me doll?"

He asked her and she looked at him and nodded slowly. He watched her face a few more seconds before he also nodded and got up again to go back to his chair between Steve and Clint. 

"I am sorry." She said and than turned her chair back around looking at all of them. 

"What for darling?" Came from Steve. He was glad that Tony and his lawyers had managed everything already, he wouldn't have allowed the girls uncle near her again. 

"For ruining your evening and beeing unreasonable." She was chewing on her lip again. 

"Oh baby girl, you were afraid of our power, it is a natural reaction after everything you went through." This time it was Tony who told her that. He wanted to hug her so badly, but he knew she wasn't ready for this.

"Look kid, we all look frightening with our muscles and stuff, but we would never, never hurt you." They all nodded at Clints comment, then Clint raised the fork in his hand and pointed it at her. "And now you should eat something kid, food is good to soothe the nerves."

Natasha looked at her and when she saw Harriet look back, she smirked.

"If the boys bug you, I can always show you how to kick their asses." 

Harriet nodded enthusiastically and Natasha beamed at her. "That's my girl."  
And with that Natasha began to eat her own food. 

For the first time since she came to the table, Harriet looked at the plate in front of her. It was filled to the brim with different sorts of food. There were some eggs with bacon on one side, a small stack of pancakes with fruits on the other and in the front were some potatoes with chicken breast and vegetables. It all looked delicious and it made her mouth start to water. She looked around and saw that no other plate was pilled up that high with food and she frowned. 

"We weren't sure what you want so we gave you a bit of everything." Tony leaned over to her while telling her that. 

She nodded in understanding and than slowly began to eat the vegetables and potatoes. They all ate in silence and soon the adults were finished. Harriet ate slowly and more than half of her plate was still full. 

"Hey kiddo, you don't want to eat your meat?" Came from Clint.

She shoke hear head no and then held her plate in his direction, offering her meat to him. Clint grinned and took the chicken breast from her plate. When the plate was back in front of her, Tony grabbed the bacon.

"I had to cook meat for my uncle twice a day, it's like I have an aversion against meat." She told them. 

"It's good you told us about it Harriet, I can adjust your nutrition to that. So we need to buy much more fruits and vegetables." Bruce said, the last part more to himself. 

After the dinner, they had a relaxed evening. After a tour of the common floor, Tony took her to Steve and Buckys floor. Both men were walking behind them.

Tone showed Harriet her new room and the small girl was speechless. She was eyeing everything with so much amazement, that Tonys decision was again confirmed. The small girl deserves the whole world and Tony would offer it to her.

"Pepper went shopping for you, there are some shirts and hoodies in the closet to choose from and when you are ready, you can buy more stuff. There is a bathroom behind the door next to the wardrobe, there is stuff for you too." Tony told the girl that was currently sitting on the bed, petting the super soft blanket with her right hand. He saw the tears in her eyes and the trembling lip and he knew, she was fighting the tears back. 

She looked up at him with tearfilled eyes, her hand still on the blanket. 

"I am sorry, I still don't understand why you are doing this." She looked at the floor and for a few seconds and when she looked back up, a small tear was slowly running down her face. 

He went over to her and knelt in front of her. Again he took her hand in his own. For a short moment he thought she would flinch again, but only her breath hitched for a few seconds before she breathed normal again.

"When I brought you here and Brucie-bear told me that you were abused, I knew I had to help you. There is nothing more reprehensible than violence against someone who isn't able to defend themself. And you, kiddo, are in need of a helping hand and I want to be that for you." He squeezed her hand.

"But why? Why taking over the guardianship? Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate your effort but I need to process it all."

Tony nodded, it was logical. There never was a caring soul in her life and because of that she was wary. 

"Honestly? I don't trust the system and I have the money and people to help you recover and offer you the best schooling possible. And you are such an intelligent and cute kid, I truly want to be responsible for you." 

She nodded, she could live with that explanation.

"Well then, thank you for the opportunity." She smiled at him and Tony smiled back at her. 

Bucky and Steve were standing just outside of her room, listening to the conversation between Tony and the girl, their new flatmate. 

"I never had my own room or my own clothes." She looked around again and Tony, still holding her hand, sat down besides her on the bed "I know I am weird most of the time and I don't really know how to show you how grateful I am, but I truly am." 

"Oh kiddo, I can only imagine how hard it is to comprehend it all and believe me, I can see it on your face, you don't have to tell me. And being smart isn't equate to being weird. Sometimes people react displeased to someone as smart as you, but believe me, we acknowledge it and we appreciate you and your brain." 

"Thank you so much." She tried to wipe away the tears with the hand Tony wasn't holding but without success. She turned towards him and watched him for a few moments before, and to Tonys amazement, she pressed her head against his shoulder, her free hand clutching his shirt. She was now openly sobbing and Tony pulled her closer, despite the small flinch. He stroked the back of her head and hummed in a low tone, till the sobbing subsided. 

"I am sorry for sobbing all over you" She told him, her voive muffled because her head was still pressed into Tonys shoulder. 

"It's ok kiddo. It's no problem."

He held her till her breath evened out and he knew she was asleep. He laid her down carefully and took off her shoes. He then tucked her in and left the room. Steve clapped a hand on Tonys shoulder when he was standing at the door, looking back inside. The room was lighted in a discreet blue tone from the night light. 

"You are doing the right thing you know?" Steve asked him. 

"Yeah, yeah I know. Is it wrong that I still want to kill him?" Tony asked and looked at Steve.

"Nah man, you aren't the only one. Bruce wants to have a piece of his ass too and you know how much I have to fight back the Winter soldier when it comes to abuse against kids and women." Bucky assured him. 

"Let's get back to the others, there is so much we need to talk about." Both super soldiers nodded "Friday, monitor her sleep and alert Bruce and me when something happens to her." 

The AI told him that everything was activated. 

"I know your super hearing doesn't require an alert for your rooms, but please listen to her closely for the next few weeks."

Again both nodded and then the three of them made their way back to the common floor.

 

_____

 

The girl had nightmares, heavy ones. Her heart was beating so fast that Bruce was really worried and planned to give her some meds for that. She had to redress two times that night because her clothes were soaked in sweat. 

Bucky was the first one to sense her distress and he deactivated Friday and went into the girls room to comfort her after her first nightmare, he held her close and told her sweet nothings while she was slowly calming down. It was a big surprise for him. Only a few hours earlier he and his arm were the reason for a panic attack and now she was seeking comfort from him. It took her some time to fall back asleep and he stayed with her for a bit longer but finally he left her room and went back to his own bed. 

The second time her heartrate skyrocketed and Bruce and Tony came looking after her. Tony helped her change her clothes and took the soaked ones with him, when she was back asleep. Bucky and Steve watched them from the doorway and went back to bed soon after. Bruce stayed on her floor after that and Tony went back to his floor, but he only went because Bruce had threatened him. 

The third time Bruce and Steve went into her room and comforted her while Bucky was standing outside of the room. Again her clothes were drenched and again her heart was beating so fast that Bruce was worried that she would give herself a heartattack. He would have to watch that more closely. When she was sleeping in the medical bay, she only had had a nightmare two times and both times it was over really fast. But her body was still recovering and she was on pain meds that would make her sleepy, while she stayed at the medbay. 

For the rest of the night he stayed in her room and had to wake her up two more times before she finally was able to fall into a fitfull sleep.

The next morning came, too early for most of the Avengers. Clint and Natasha were making breakfast when the tired men and a nearly asleep girl came in. 

Bruce sat down on his chair heavily, his head resting in his right hand. Steve and Bucky both took some of the offered eggs while Tony went to the coffee machine instantly. 

Harriet watched them, too tired to eat, but munching on her sandwich nevertheless. 

Tony took one of the coffee mugs to the table and sat it down in front of Bruce, squeezing his shoulder with his other hand before he turned around to get his own mug. He sat down besides Bruce who leaned a bit closer to him. Tony took the first sip of his coffee, his eyes closing, savoring the first taste of it in his mouth.

"You know, you two are a cute couple." 

Clint nearly choked on the cereals he was eating, Natasha had to help him breath again with clapping her hand on his back. Bucky was smirking from where he was standing at the counter. 

Tony and Bruce looked at the small girl in front of them, both were a little shocked. 

"Oh doll, I really like you." Came from Bucky and Harriet blushed a little before she looked down. 

"How did you know?" asked Clint. 

She looked at him, thinking about her answer for a few more seconds. 

"Because they are so close to each other, it's the small touches here and there, like with you and Natasha or Steve and Bucky." She leaned back, her head still red.

"Well." Tony coughed "seems like you are very observant." He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

She looked at him and back to the ground with a whispered "sorry".

"No need for that honey. It's good to know that you can read people so well." Natasha smiled at her.

Harriet nodded but still wasn't able to look at them again. She wasn't really used to speak her mind and for a short moment she was afraid that maybe they would hit her like her uncle did. Even when they promised her just yesterday, that they would never hurt her. She was used to promises being broken. 

There was a short uncomfortable silence before Tony stood up and told Harriet to follow him. She nodded slowly and mentally she was bracing herself for the yelling that would surely follow. But nothing came. Tony only wanted to show he his working place and he told her that she could help him, if she was up to it and not too tired. She beamed a smile at him and thanked him. It was the first time in years that someone wanted her help and it wasn't cooking or cleaning. So far everything was even better than she expected. Her belly was full and despite the multiple nightmares she felt better than ever. 

Tony showed her the new Starkphone he was working on and brought her over to a small desk with some books.

"You can read them, they are all about engineering, mechanics and technology. I know with your brain you'll be able to help me in a few days." 

"Thank you." She smiled at him and picked the first book about working with precious metals and began to read while he was working on the phone. The music wasn't as loud as usual but when he looked up after some time he saw her foot bounce up and down to the beat. His little ward liked rock music. That brought another smile to his face. 

It was a few hours later when Friday announced that it was time for lunch.

Harriet looked at Tony and back to the book she was reading.

"You can take it with you kiddo. I know Bruce wants to see you after lunch, so take it." He reassured her.

She nodded and took the book in her hands, holding it close to her body like it was a treasure and Tony realised that indeed this book was a treasure for her. It was the first time that someone had allowed her to do something more than beeing a servant. She was allowed to think and expand her knowledge. 

Again the whole common floor smelled mouthwatering and when Tony and Harriet went over to the table, her plate was filled with grilled vegetables and mushrooms. No meat and for that she was grateful. 

"Thank you so much." She smiled and looked at Steve who was wearing an apron. 

"No problem sweetheart." 

And with that everyone began to eat. No one said a word, everyone was busy with the delicious meal. 

When it was time to clear away the used plates and cutlery, Harriet offered her help and began to cary some of the plates to the dishwasher. Tony was watching her, it would be hard to break that habit. She was used to do the work in the house, but here everyone was helping and he needed her to know that. 

After lunch she went with Bruce to the medbay and he changed the bandage around her wrist and looked after her ribs. The bruises were slowly fading away, but the scars on her back would be there forever. But Bruce was hopeful that the scars on her soul would heal with enough time and love.

After that Bruce and Harriet went to the training area and watched Steve and Bucky train with each other. Both super soldiers were giving each other a hard time, they were nearly equally strong and both had an incredible stamina. They watched them train for nearly two hours before both were drenched in sweat and finally done for the day. 

Harriet was impressed. Neither of them was hurt, despite the force behind each blow. 

"How did you do that?" She asked Steve when he sat down on the ground besides her, a fresh towel over his shoulder and a water bottle in his hand. Bucky was still standing and was draining his water bottle. 

"What do you mean sweetheart?"

"You are not hurt. I was never able to dodge my uncles blows." She looked to the ground and started to fiddle with a thread of the shirt she was wearing.

"Hey doll, look at me." Bucky told her while sitting down next to Steve. When she looked at him, he continued. "We are both trained fighters now, but there were times, when we both were hurt by others. Stevie here was a small boy in his youth and I had to help him a lot of times. We both came home with bruises or scratches from the other boys in town on a daily basis. But we trained and we worked out and then we both were test-subjects and only that brought us to where we are now. We are supersoldiers doll, not normal humans."

Harriet nodded. 

"Can you show me how to be strong? Not your supersoldier strong, but as strong as it is possible for me?"

"Sure doll." Bucky grinned at her. "When do you want to start?" 

"You can start training with her, when her bones are fully healed." Came from Bruce. "Oh come on, don't look at me like that. I am the doc and not a spoilsport."

After that Harriet went to her room. It still felt so unreal, having her own room and with clothes only for her. She sat down on the bed with the book from Tonys workspace and read till it was time for dinner. 

That's how the next few days went by. Waking up, eating with the adults, reading in the workshop, talking to Bruce and finally learning with tutors for a few hours a day. It were nice days, Harriet finally felt safe. She still flinched at sudden movements, but she wasn't so tense anymore. 

Now, three weeks after the accident, she was reading over some school books from her history tutor.

Bucky knocked on her door at seven o'clock and Harriet looked up at him and smiled. Beeing at ease was a new feeling, but everyone of the Avengers made her feel safe and it was a nice feeling. It would take her more time to stop flinching or fidgeting when someone was moving next to her. But they all promised to help her and that was another thing she was thankful for. This people were not oblieged to be so nice to her but still they were and it felt amazing. 

Dinner was another quiet affair. She had a yoghurt with some fruits and a grilled cheese, while most of the men had loads of meat on their plates. 

When they were all done and they returned to the big couches on the common floor Harriet sat down on the soft rug with Tony next to her on the couch. Bruce was sitting next to him, with his arm around Tonys shoulder and a book in the other hand. 

"So.. umm.. when do you wake up in the mornings?" Harriet asked them, when everyone was comfortable.

"Everyone has a different schedule, but we usually meet at seven for breakfast." Bruce told her. 

"Okay, thanks." She looked back at the book in her lap, while all the adults looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces, but no one asked why she wanted to know that. They would find it out soon enough.

They watched a movie and soon Tony left to work a bit more on his phone and Bruce wanted to search a bit more. Clint took Natasha to their floor after the first movie and Steve and Bucky were the only ones left with Harriet. 

In the middle of the second movie, the book fell from Harriets hands and her head was resting on the couch, she was clearly asleep. 

Bucky nudged Steve with his foot and without words they both communicated for a few seconds, until finally Bucky stood up and went over to Harriet.

She was in a deep sleep, Friday told them that much. Bucky carefully put his flesh arm around Harriets back and his metal arm unter her knees and stood up with the sleeping child in his arms. Her head was resting on his chest and he slowly made his way over to the elevator. On their floor he brought her to her own room and with Steves help he tucked her in. Before he left her room he made sure that her night light was on and closed the door behind him.

Steve led him to their shared room. Now that Harriet knew that they were in a relationship, there was no need to hide it any longer. They changed into shirts and boxers and then went to bed. Bucky curled into Steves side with his head on Steves chest. Steves arm was wrapped around the other man and it only took them some minutes to succumb to sleep. 

 

\---------

 

It felt like only minutes later, when both supersoldiers where wide awake again. They could hear the girl trashing and whimpering in her bed and within seconds both were in her room. Bucky holding her like the first time she had had a nightmare. 

"You are safe doll, I won't let him come near you again." 

She nodded into his chest but her hands were still fisted into his sleeping shirt.

"I.. I don't.. can I.." She wasn't sure how to ask, but she doesn't want to be alone at the moment.

"Do you want us to stay sweetheart?" Steve asked behind Bucky. Harriet shoke her head no.

"You wanna come over to our room, doll?" Bucky asked and got a small nod in response.

Without another question he stood up and took the girl with him. She clung to him like a small monkey with her legs around his waist and her hands on his shirt. The three of them went over to the mens room and Bucky sat down on the bed and helped Harriet to settle under the cover, the girl was now laying between the soldiers. 

A short time later she was asleep again and slept through the night without another nightmare. 

When the morning came, she carefully crawled out of the bed, both men woke up and looked questioning at her.

"I only need go to the bathroom." She smiled at them and when they both closed their eyes again, she went to her own room. A quick look at the clock told her it was just after six in the morning. She took her time in the bathroom and a hot shower later she took some new clothes out of the closet and put them on. After combing through her hair she went to the elvator and to the common room. 

There was no one on the floor and so she began to work in the kitchen. She was halfway done with the fruit pancakes when she felt someone behind her. Her shoulders went rigid and she was frozen in her movements when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. 

The hand turned her around, it was a harsh movement, nothing like the careful touches from the past day. 

Her eyes went wide when she looked up and up and up till she met an angry face of a man that she didn't knew. She began to tremble and tried to get away from the man, but his grip on her shoulder was like iron. He was talking to her, but she only was able to hear the pumping of her blood in her ears. He looked so angry and the tears started to roll down her cheeks. When his other hand came up, she saw that he had a massive hammer in it, ready to strike.


	4. A Question

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you so much for over 250 subscriptions and bookmarks. <3
> 
> This chapter is a bit shorter than the last ones, but this ending was too tempting not to use.

Time stood stil for some moments.

Then her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth, ready to beg for her life. But before she was able to stammer out a plea the force on her shoulder was gone. It all happened in a blur, while she was trying to get enough air in her lungs.

She fell to her knees, heavily breathing, only mere seconds away from a panic attack. Black spots were hindering her to see clearly and when Bucky and Bruce were with her only seconds later, she flinched away from their hands. She tried to crawl away from them and bumped her head into the kitchen. While her vision faded more and more she finally found her words again and begged them to not hurt her.

"Hey, hey.. doll.. Shhh.." Bucky was trying to calm her down, but wasn't able to. She was to far gone to think straight or recognize that the two men on the floor next to her were there to help and not to hurt.

Bruce was helpless besides Bucky, they weren't sure how to handle that distressed girl. Bruce was barely able to fight the Hulk, his eyes and the green hue on his skin gave away how hard he was fighting against his transformtion.

After a few more seconds, that felt like hours to both men, her body finally gave in and she blacked out. Bucky took her in his arms and hurried out of the common floor and into the elevator to bring the limp girl to their own floor. He spoke to her the whole way, saying sweet nothings, more and more of his words were in russian now. He was still speaking in hushed tones to her and craddled her close when he reached his bedroom and settled down in his and Steves bed.

 

 

On the common floor the other Avengers were still trying to hold back Thor.

It was a long time since all of the Avengers were this angry. All the work from the last weeks for naught. Only because the blond god wasn't able to ask before threatening people.

"What were you thinking you idiot?" Came from Clint, who had his bow aimed at the god. Natasha standing next to him with a gun in her hands.

Tony had him pinned against a wall with parts of the Iron Man suit around his arms and hands.

"What are you talking about? There was an unfamiliar mortal and she didn't answer my questions." The god tried to justify his actions.

"This unfamiliar mortal is my ward you jerk." Tony spoke through gritted teeth.

"You can't come in her and threaten people with your hammer, Thor. She is just a kid and you ruined the last few days with beeing an immortal asshole." Steve was barely able to hold his anger back. He had seen her scramble away from the persons that were her safehaven for the last weeks. She would be a frightened mess in the near future.

Thor stopped fighting back, he was confused and needed time to think. Tony left as soon as the god was sitting on a chair nearby. The others could handle this idiot, he had a ward to tend to.

"I am out Cap, I need to know how Harriet is."

Steve only nodded before turning around to roast Thor.

 

When he entered the floor, he saw Bruce pacing in the hallway. Pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand.

"How is she?" he asked him and for a moment the other man stopped pacing, inhaled deeply and looked at the door, where Steves and Buckys bedroom was.

"Unconscious. Her body gave out before she was getting a heartattack."

Tony nodded and walked over to the door.

"Bucky is with her. We need to take it slow the next days. I don't know how she will react when she comes back through. This was quite a shock, for all."

"I know Thor only wanted to protect us, but he needs to think before he acts like that. He can't come in here and threaten people, especially children, like that. What if Friday hadn't..." he wasn't able to end this sentence.

"But Friday has and Harriet will be allright, hopefully." Bruce looked up and the familiar swirl of green was in his eyes. He had to fight with Hulk quite often these days and Tony wasn't always able to calm him down.

Tony nodded and knocked on the door before he entered Caps and Buckys bedroom. The former Wintersoldier was sitting on the bed, with the girl in his lap. His metal arm was stroking her back and he was singing a russian lullaby to her still unconscious form. It was the same lullaby Steve had sang to Bucky a few times when he was having a panic attack himself. It was a strange sight and in other circumstances Tony might have laughed, but right now, it only made him sad. He was standing near the door, unsure if he was allowed to sit down on the bed. They were a family, but sitting down on another mens bed felt to intimate to do it without asking first. The only reaction he got from the other man was a small smile.

When the song was finished, Tony spoke to him.

"Thank you Bucky. I wouldn't have known what to do. I really appreciate your help, you know that, right?"

Bucky nodded "Yeah I do."

"Steve is with the others, lecturing Thor. Can I stay here for a while?"

He got a nod and only seconds later Bucky patted the blanket next to him to indicate Tony should move over to sit next to him on the bed.

They sat in silence for nearly an our, when the small body in Buckys lap began to move.

Tony would never forget the panic in those beautiful eyes.

"You are safe malýschka. Please look at me doll." Bucky begged her, while she tried to get out of his grasp.

"Please... I am sorry." She cried, but finally relented. Most adults weren't able to fight Buckys grip, and it was no wonder that the girl had no chance.

"You don't have to be sorry, my sweet girl. The only one to blame is Thor. You did nothing wrong, do you hear me Harriet?" Tony tried to assure her.

She nodded and pushed her face into Buckys chest. The sobbing was heartbreaking and both men were at a loss for words. Bucky held her close and rubbed soothing circles on her back with one hand, while the other was petting the back of her head.

"Princess, please calm down. You are safe ok?" Tony tried again and this time Harriet looked at him, chewing on her lower lip, which was still a nervous habit of her. Tony wanted to say more to her, to reassure her, but there came no words to his mind and so he only spread his arms and looked at her. He held them open for some minutes and just when he thought about letting them fall down on the bed, the small girl jumped out of Buckys hold and into Tonys waiting arms. Her grip around his neck was suffocating, but Tony couldn't care less. The girl finally showed her trust in him and if he wasn't able to breath propelry, so be it.

The three of them stayed in the room for the rest of the morning. Harriet was silent most of the time. Steve came with some food a few hours later, but Harriet wasn't able to eat. The adults talked with her still in Tonys lap and Steve assured her, that Thor was devastated and wanted to apologize. They told her about Thors brother Loki and how Thor was always worried that something bad would happen to his so called mortal family. Loki wasn't a bad person per se, but he was acting reckless and sometimes without much thinking. Because of thoughtlessness Thors family was hurt badly the last time Loki was walking on earth and the blond god would do anything to prevent another incident.

Harriet could understand his reasons, but he had scared her so much, she wasn't sure if she could forgive him in the next future but she would try. She would do her best for the four men around her and the other Avengers in this tower, she would do it for the persons she treasured the most, her family.

It took the three men a lot of coaxing and promising, but finally they were able to bring Harriet back to the common floor.

Thor was still sitting on the chair where Tony had left him hours ago and the look on his face was crestfallen. Harriet was holding onto Tonys and Buckys hands and was standing slightly behind them. Both adults were acting like a protecting shield for her. When Thor tried to stand up, a small hand gesture from Tonys free hand had him freezing in his movements and he sat back down again.

"I know what I did was uncalled-for and I want to say that I am deeply ashamed of my actions against you. As an asgardian prince I should have acted differently. But you have to understand that these mortals are my midgardian family and I would do everything to protect them. But as you are a ward of the man of iron, you have my word, that from this day on I will protect you too."

Harriet nodded and looked up at Tony. She let got of Buckys hand Tony picked her up, one arm under her tighs and the other around her back. Her legs were dangling on either side of his body and her face was pressed into Tonys neck, her hair was shielding her face.

"I will take her with me today, please let her tutors know that there will be no lessons today."

The other adults around them nodded and Tony went to the elevator with his human charge.

 

 

 

Tony wasn't able to concentrate on his work. Harriet was sitting at his desk, another book in her hands. Her breathing was calm, but her shoulders were tense.

"Harriet.." he began and waited till the girl looked at him "I am so sorry. This shouldn't have happened, I should have kept you safe. I will do everything in my power that something like that never happens again. Please believe me sweetheart."

He looked heartbroken and Harriet jumped out of her seat and walked over to Tony, who was holding his face in his hands. After a few seconds, her arms came around his waist and she hugged him tightly. 

"It's okay. I know you do everything to keep me safe. You'll protect me and be the dad I should have had"

That was all it took for Tony to hug her back and finally let go of the tears he was trying to hold back. Tonys fingers combed through her hair and he winced when he felt the small bump on her head.

"Oh babygirl, you are the daughter I should have had. You make me so happy sweetheart and I am so proud of you."

They stood like this for some time. Holding each other tight and giving each other strenght.

When it was time for lunch, they went to the common floor were Steve and Bruce were cooking at the stove. Clint and Natasha were playing cards with Thor, who was still looking like he had eaten a bag of lemons. The atmosphere on the floor was tense and everybody wanted to know what the girl would do.

Harriet hesitated for a moment when she saw Thor sitting at the table, but a poke from Tony had her walking again. She sat down on her chair with Tony next to her. Bruce and Steve brought over the dishes and then both sat down on their own chairs.

Harriet only took some small bites from the vegetables on her plate. She still wasn't really hungry. Bruce and Tony talked about some theories they wanted to take some closer looks at after lunch and asked Harriet if she would like to help. The girl nodded and than looked back at her plate. It was the first time, that the silence around the table was uncomfortable.

When Tony and Bruce were done with their meals, the three of them went back to Tonys workspace.

They worked for the rest of the day and when it was time for dinner, the new Starkphone was finished. Harriet would be the first to get one, when the phone went into production. But hers wouldn't be a regular one, hers would have some more gadgets, like a part of Friday in it and a protection system that would allow Tony to locate her or activate the cameras and sound to watch her. The last part would only be used in a case of an emergency and not to control her and he had asked Harriet if she was ok with that. Of course she was.

Before the three of them left for dinner, Harriet went into the bathroom and Tony grabbed one of Bruce's arms and pulled him closer.

"Bruce, do you know what she told me, when we were here before lunch?"

Bruce only shoke his head and one of his hands reached for Tonys cheek. His thumb was caressing the side of his face and his jawline.

"Look at me Tones." When Tony looked up he continued, "Tell me what she said."

Tony nodded and then replied. "She told me I am the dad she should have had." And for the second time that day, there were tears rolling over Tonys cheeks. Bruce gripped Tonys head with both of his hands and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead before he pulled the other man into his arms, holding him close and breathing in his scent.

"That is wonderful Tones. You both deserve each other."

"Bruce, I... I want to. I really want to be that. You know? The dad that she should have had. I want her to be more than just my ward."

"You should tell her Tony. Tell her how you feel about her."

"You.. you are ok with that?"

"Course I am. The girl is brilliant and I stand behind you, always."

Tony nodded and hugged Bruce back even tighter.

"I'll tell her, soon." Tony whispered to Bruce.

They stepped away from each other when they heared the door to the lab open.

"Ehmm.. I am sorry if I have interrupted something." Harriet told them and looked at the ground awkwardly.

"No, no, you haven't, come here Harriet." He held one of his arms out for her.

Harriet nodded and went over to Tony, who hugged her to his side. Her arms came around his waist again.

"We should go up to have dinner, sweetheart."

"Are you ok? Have I done anything to make you cry?" She asked him and looked up at him with her bright green eyes.

"No darlin', you haven't done anything. I am just really happy."

She nodded and together they walked over to the elevator.

Thor wasn't there for dinner and Harriet released the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. Tony had told her some more about the blond god and after the talk in the morning she knew he had thought that she was a danger to the team, his family. But still she was glad that she could eat her dinner without him around. It would take more time for her to accept the god and be comfortable around him.

 

 

Soon everything calmed down, the Avengers weren't tense any more and they began to act normal around the small girl again and in return the girl acted like before Thor. She wasn't made of glas and she made it clear to the adults that she didn't want to be handled as if she was. They laughed again and more often than not, Harriet was the reason, either because she simply was adorable or because she talked or acted like an adult. Sometimes they thought she was more grown up than Tony.

After a few more weeks the tutors had a talk with Tony and they told him, that Harriet was far above an average kid. That was nothing new for him, he knew about her high IQ and the eidetic memory, he had seen her work in his lab and he knew how fast she could connect dots. She was helping him in the lab more often now and he would ask her about the books, but from one genie to another, he felt nothing strange about her. With the test the tutors had done in the last days, it was clear that she would go to a high school this fall.

Now it was time to choose to which school she wanted to go. With her brain and the tests, every school would allow her to attend. But besides the school, Tony had one other thing he wanted to discuss with his ward.

"Harriet, can you come to my lab after lunch?" he asked the girl, which nodded and popped another raspberry in her mouth. 

When Harriet walked into the lab a short time later, she saw Tony pacing and his hand went through his hair, he was nervous and that made her nervous too. She had no idea what he wanted to talk about. She knew about her test, which she had passed with flying colors and she knew the tutors had recommended that she should go to a High school. So what was this about? She hadn't done anything wrong, at least she thought she hadn't. Before she could think more about it, she knocked on the doorframe.

Tony stopped his pacing and looked over to her.

"Come in and sit down with me ok?" He asked her and with a nod she walked into the lab and sat down at the desk.

"What..what have I done?" She asked him and like always when she was nervous, her bottom lip was trapped between her teeth.

"Oh nothing sweetheart. I just want to tell you something. I thought about it for the last few weeks and now I am sure." He smiled and carefully pulled her lip out from the grip of her teeth with his right thumb.

She gave him a small nod to signal him to continue.

"Do you remember when Thor attacked you?"

She nodded, she would never forget that day.

"And do you remember what you told me, when we were down here?"

Again she nodded.

"Can you tell me?" He asked here and was barely able to hold back his smile.

"I told you that I know you do everything to keep me safe.That you'll protect me and be the dad I should have had." Her eyes went wide after she told him and she saw him nod eagerly.

"I want to be it."

"It?" She asked him, she knew what he wanted to say, but she needed to hear it.

"I want to be your dad."


	5. A bad time and a good time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for 300 subscriptions and bookmarks. 
> 
> Here is a new chapter for all of you :)

Tony was met with silence. Harriet looked at him and opened and closed her mouth a couple of times like a stranded fish and then tears began to gather in her eyes. She nodded her head and in mere seconds she was in Tonys waiting arms, hugging him tight with her still too thin arms around his waist. She kept on nodding while her grip around him tightened so much, that it was nearly painful. 

Tony had to strain his ears to hear her whispered "Yes", but he heard it and this small word made him the happiest he ever was. 

They stood like that for some time, both crying tears of joy and holding onto each other. This was one of the few moments that Tony was proud and not ashamed of his tears and it was one of the few moments that he would tell the other Avengers stories about. 

When both of them went to the common room, Tony had Friday call all the other Avengers, all except Thor, and announced officially, that he was going to adopt Harriet. They all were happy and they had a big celebration that evening. Happy brought over everyones favorite take out and he and Pepper celebrated with all the others. Pepper was never more proud of Tony, he had found a new purpose in his life and keeping a small girl safe and happy was a big one. 

They played cards and sat together talking and laughing way into the early hours of the next day, the adults with some good wine and Harriet with her favorite juice, pumpkin juice.

It was a nice celebration and everyone had fun. Tony, Bruce, Steve, Bucky and Harriet decided, that she would still be living on Steve and Buckys floor. Both men were like brothers, very protective brothers, to her and would be around more often than the both scientists. And both of them were able to handle her nightmares, even if those occured less and less. There were still some situations that triggered panic attacks, but she was on a good way, and they were sure she would continuously get better.

The next step would take more time, the authorities wouldn't work as fast as Tony was accustomed to. Public authorities would always take their time and there would be a huge amount of paperwork to work through and Tony was glad that he had his lawyers for that. Reading laws and understand those laws was tiring.

A week later Tonys overpayed lawyers had worked through all the paperworks and a Child Protective Services worker came over for a home visit. 

The woman walked through the whole tower and all the labs taking notes and asking tons of questions before she talked to everyone, including Harriet. She left a bitter taste in everyones mouth. The lady was a conservative and strict woman in everything but her pink clothes and all of them had to endure some snide remarks from her.

She was sitting in one of the offices, when Harriet walked in and sat down opposite of her.

"So, Harriet, Tony Stark is your guardian and you live with him in his tower, right?"

The girl only nodded.

"Hem! Hem! A verbal answer please." 

"Yes.. yes, he is my guardian and I am living in the tower." She answer her dutifully. 

"And is it the truth that your guardian is in a relationship with a man called Bruce Banner and that he is one of the men you are always around?"

"Dr. Banner."

"Excuse me?" the woman asked with a frown on her face.

Harriet swallowed. "Yes. Tony and Bruce are together and both are living with me in the tower."

There was a knock on the door and after a nearly growled "enter" from the woman, Steve came in.

"I came here to ask you if the both of you are hungry, we are making Shawarma with vegetables and chicken."

Harriet nodded, while the woman turned around to face Steve.

"You know, I really hate chicken. And despite of that, we are not done here." With that she dismissed him and turned back to Harriet, who looked apologetic at Steve. He gave her a thumb up and then left the room, closing the door again. 

The questioning went on for another hour, before the door opened and a smug looking woman and a stressed Harriet came out of the room.

The first thing the woman saw, was Tony sitting on the couch, next to Bruce who had his arm around Tonys shoulders.

"Tut! Tut! Tut! You shouldn't be within eight inches of each other in front of your ward, Mr. Stark." The woman reprimanded.

"Well, we are a family, Ms. Umbridge, and no one will be touch-starved in this house." Tony told the woman, who looked unfazed. 

After a few moments of staring, the women broke the eye contact and after a simple nod, she packed her things into her pink bag. 

Tony and Bruce went over to her and the woman left with a short goodbye and that they would hear from the Child Protectives Service soon.

"Wow, that was a strange woman." Tony told the others after Friday confirmed that Ms. Umbridge had left the Tower. 

"Let's hope that her boss isn't such a homphobic prick." Bucky told them after putting his hands over Harriets ears. 

They all nodded and hoped for the best. 

The rest of the day was quiet. All of them were thinking of the woman and what her questions would mean for the adoption. It was clear to them that Ms. Umbridge loathed all of them, either because of their sexuality or because they all had more money than she would ever have. Tony had called his lawyer and talked with him about the visit. The lawyers told him not to worry, that he and his other collegues would take a look at her report and that there was no reason why Tony shouldn't be approved as competend parent.

Harriet was worried and she told Bucky and Steve about it, when she sat with them that night. 

"Do you think that they will approve? I am so worried that they are all like her." 

Steve patted her shoulder. "Don't worry kid, I think we just got one bad worker. They will look over her notes and everything that Tonys lawyers presented and I am sure they will make the right decision." 

Bucky nodded and pulled her into his lap to tickle her sides. They all love the giggling and laughing from Harriet everytime someone tickles her. 

They talked a bit more, before Harriet went over to her own room and all three of them went to bed. 

Harriet and Tony had to worry for a few more days, then one of his lawyers called and told them, that they would come by tomorrow after lunch, to have a meeting with the Child Protectives Services worker to get the final decision.

They had only a small salad for lunch, both of them weren't really hungry. 

And then finally, Tony and his lawyers were ready for the final meeting. Today was the day they would get to know if Tony was able to get approved. 

When the doors of the elevator opened, all of them were relieved, that it wasn't Ms. Umbridge that was visiting them. 

A short and thin woman with bright purple hair stepped out of the elevator. 

"Hello, my name is Mrs. Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, Child Protectives Service, but don't call me Nymphadora, it's Tonks." The woman rambled. She held her hand out for Tony, Harriet and the lawyers to take. 

"Well, hello Tonks." Tony said with a bright smile. 

Harriet shoke her hand and whispered a "hello" before she took Tonys hand and stood besides him. 

After the short welcome, Tony showed them to the conference room and sat down next to Harriet, his lawyers sat down left and right of them with 'Tonks' opposite of them. 

"So, Tonks, I hope you are here to bring us some good news?" Tony asked her, still nervous.

The woman nodded and opened her suitcase and offered the lawyers a huge pile of papers. 

"I am so sorry for Ms. Umbridge, she isn't suited to make home visits but we are short a few staff-members and so she was sent to talk with you. Among us, this woman drives me crazy with her pink clothes and her high pitched voice." The woman rolled her eyes and then laughed about her own antics. 

Harriet leaned over to Tony and whispered not so quietly into his ear "I like her" which made all of the adults laugh. 

Tonks smiled at her. 

"You are a sweet child and I am glad that you have such a good guardian. It is amazing how a child can bloom with the right support." Her hand patteted a stack of papers still in front of her, within it were all the reports and tests Harriets tutors had given to the Child Protectives Service.

"I am glad, too. I know he is a hero for a lot of people, because he is Iron Man but for me he is my real hero. Without him, I wouldn't be here right now, maybe not even alive." Harriet looked down at her hands, her right one was still interlaced with Tonys left. Tony gave her hand a squeeze.

"You are a wonderful, bright child Harriet and I would do everything again, just to keep you safe." He smiled down at her. 

Tonks knew she had made the right decision, when she took over the case from Umbridge. She knew that this woman was bigoted and would take a child out of a loving environment only because the future parents weren't the stereotype family, read a man and a woman, married to each other. Everytime she thaught that this would happen, she would take over the cases and make sure that the children would stay with their guradians. And till now, it was always the right decision. 

She watched Tony and Harriet interact with each other and took some notes while the lawyers looked over the papers. Today was a big milestone in the life of one Harriet Potter and she was thankful, that a man like Tony Stark had found her, when he did. He had enough money and connections to support her for the rest of her life. And besides that, she could see that he had an equal amount of love for the girl and that was even more worth.

The lawyers worked through all the papers and showed Tony where he needed to sign them and after only another hour, everything was signed and packed away in the womans suitcase. The papers would be presented to the local court, but this was only a technicality, the court usually trusted the Child Protectives Service with their judgement of the future parents. 

Tonks said goodbye shortly after that and promised to come back, when the paperwork was back from the court. 

So they waited for another whole week, till the documents were delivered by the young woman. This time her hair was a fiery red but her smile was the same like the last time she came out of the elevator. Her visit was short, she gave Tony all documents, congratulated him and Harriet and then she was gone again, leaving a stunned Tony and Harriet behind. 

Tony couldn't believe how easy it was to work with Tonks, the woman was a ray of sunshine and open minded, yet she was the best in her job, according to his lawyers. And now he had everything in his hands to make it officially that Harriet wasn't his ward anymore. 

Pepper would hold a small press conference with selected journalists in a few weeks. As a president of one of the biggest companies in the world, he couldn't keep something like that a secret. But he wouldn't push Harriet into the limelight. He would tell the journalists only the bare necessities and nothing more. No need to make Harriets life more complicated or put her in danger. Beeing a Stark sometimes puts a target on your back. But before the conference, they would have a party again, a bigger one than the last. He wanted to tell all of his friends around the world about his perfect little angel. 

The party would happen in three weeks, so everybody had enough time to plan the travel to the Tower. The guests with the longest journey were prince T'Challa and his sister Shuri. Both of them were as enthusiastic about technology as Tony and Harriet were and Tony was sure that Shuri and Harriet would have a lot to talk about. Ever since Tony had shown Harriet some of the Wakandan technology, Buckys arm included, she wanted to meet the young woman. But of course this would be a surprise for Harriet. Tony couldn't wait to see her face when the young nobles would come through the door. It would be priceless, for sure. 

 

Three weeks later, on a Saturday evening, the first guests started to arrive to the 'Baby shower' party. Harriet had insisted, that every guest who wanted to gift her something should donate to a local children's home instead. That was the first thing that some journalist was able to find out about the new daughter of Tony Stark and it made it to the front page instantly. After the article everybody wanted to find out more about the girl, but Tony and all the other Avengers kept their mouths shut. The general public would have to wait till the press conference to learn more about Harriet Stark. 

For the first time since Harriet had moved into the tower, she wasn't wearing casual clothes. A big party like this one begs for a worthy outfit, so was wearing a knee-length white boho summer dress with lace over the whole bodice and the fabric of the sleeves. Natasha had curled her waist length black hair and had shown her how to use the curling iron and some of her make-up products. Tony was wearing one of his expensive tailored suits and a red tie. He was standing behind Harriet, his hands on her shoulders. He looked just like the proud father that he was. 

They greeted everyone that came to the party. Nick Fury came with Maria Hill in tow. He was one of the few people that were against an adoption at the beginning- Fury was glad, that he hadn't been adamant that Tony should give the guardianship away. He had talked to the young girl a few times since the adoption and was pleased that they had another brilliant mind on their side. Bruce and Tony were both even more productive since the girls arrival, if that was even possible and the story about the girls selflessness was a good advertisement.

Tony introduced Harriet to all the guests and Harriet tried to talk to all of them at least once. She had a lot of fun, even if she was the only kid in the house. She was drinking her pumpkin juice, when the doors opened again and prince T'Challa and Shuri, followed by two of the famous Dora Milaje warriors, came into the room. 

It were moments like that, that would coin the phrase 'gaping like a fish out of the water' for Harriets facial expression. The girl was speechless, one of her idols was standing mere meters away from her and she looked directly in her direction. Tony dragged the still gaping girl over to the two the Wakandan nobles and introduced them with a big smile on his face. 

T'Challa took her hand and kissed the back of it like the noble that he was. Shuri only chuckled besides him and hugged the girl, which squeaked in delight.

Harriet wasn't sure if she was dreaming. Shuri was one of the smartest woman on the planet and she was standing right in front of her and just a few seconds ago said smart woman had hugged her. She was looking at them with her wide green eyes. "Ohmygodohmygood, you are really here."

Shuri chuckled at that and than took one of Harriets hands in her own and pulled the girl closer again.

"I know you didn't want to get gifts, but Tony told me how much you love my works and this pendant was made by me only for you. He told me how much you love the swan lake." She smiled at the girl, whose eyes went wide like saucers and held out the beautiful necklace with an even more beautiful pendant. It was a swan with spread wings. The detailed feathers of the swan were made of Vibranium. This pendant was woth a small fortune but for Harriet it was invaluable. 

"I.. I don't know.. thank you." Harriet stuttered out her thanks to Shuri and also to T'Challa who was smiling down at her. 

"Come Harriet, I want to talk with you about my newest project." Shuri took Harriets hand and walked the excited girl to one of the unoccupied couches. 

Bucky and Steve stood at the far wall and both held up a thumb in her direction. Harriet smiled at them, before the world around faded away in favour of the scientist before her. The both of them discussed for nearly three hours and Harriet wasn't aware that most of the guests were ready to leave or were gone already. Tony came over to her and sat down next to her. 

"I hate to interrupt your brilliant minds, but the party slowly comes to an end." He smiled at the pout on Harriets face. 

"Oh come on, don't give me that face kiddo. I am sure Shuri and you can talk again in the morning, but now you should say good night to everybody and go to bed."

"Five more minutes?" She pleaded with him and Shuri laughed at that. 

"Five more minutes, but then you go to bed, unterstood?"

She nodded and mock-saluted to him before she too laughed. 

Tony rolled his eyes but left the two for another short discussion. 

When it was time to say goodnight, Bucky and Steve went with her to their floor and Harriet sat down on their bed, too excited to go to bed. She told them all about Shuri and her inventions while laying between the two adults. After her retelling of the evening it was just a matter of minutes till she fell asleep, even if it was while she was telling them about Shuris plans to work with her in the next few days. Bucky smiled when he pulled the blanket over the sleeping girl. Steve gave him a kiss and both kissed Harriet on her forehead and then layed down on both sides of the girl. It was a fitfull sleep and Harriet woke up with the rising sun, streched her arms above her head and after a mumbled "morning" from both adults and a more happy "good morning" from the girl she walked over to her bathroom. She was ready for her day only an hour later, fully intending on making the most of the time Shuri and T'Challa were in America.

She ate a fast breakfast and waited for the young Wakandan inventor to show up. To loosen up her nerves, she began to clean the kitchen and put all the dishes into the dish-washer. When she was done, she sat down and played with one of the apples, that were laying in the huge fruit bowl. She only had to wait a few more minutes till the woman sat down next to her and took an apple herself out of the bowl.

"Good morning Harriet." 

"Good morning" the girl beamed a smile at Shuri, who bit into the apple. 

"Are you ready for a long day in the lab?" She asked her after a few bites. 

Harriet nodded "I never have been more ready." Both laughed about that.

"Well, come on then, let's get started." Shuri stood up and walked out of the kitchen, Harriet hot on her heels.

They worked in the lab the whole day. Tony had to bring them lunch and dinner, or the two of them would have missed both. Shuri showed her how T'Challas suits are working and they worked on a some more improvements on Buckys metal arm. Said man ruffled Harriets hair and earned a startled "Hey" from her, before he left the two females to work a bit more on new inventions. 

That's how the whole week went by and soon it was time for the Wakandan prince and princes to leave America again. Both hugged Harriet, they had embosomed the girl and she would always have a place in their hearts. Shuri made sure to invit the two Starks and Bruce to visit Wakanda soon. 

Before she left, she hugged Harriet again and whispered in her ear. "If you are ever in trouble and need help, just find a way to let me know that the little swan is lost. Always remember that." 

Harriet nodded as a reply and then Shuri followed her brother into the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resists with using film quotes, even if they are a bit modified ;-) 
> 
> Oh and I am sure that an adoption doesn't work that way, but in my timeline it does :)  
> Please let me know what you think about that chapter.


	6. Authors note

I am so sorry for all who thought this would be a new chapter.

Right now I don't have the strenght to write on my story and I won't be able to post a new chapter this week. Last sunday God decided that he needs a new angel and he welcomed my husbands grandma in heaven. This loss came unexpected and i am deeply heartbroken at the moment. She was an awesome woman. 

Thank you all for your kudos, bookmarks and subscriptions. I hope i can give you all a new chapter soon.


	7. A hard time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your condolences and your nice words. You have no idea how much they mean to me. I am still having a hard time. Planing a funeral is pretty hard. But today I was able to write something again. It is only short chapter and I am not sure if I am happy with it, but here it is.

Pepper held the press-conference a few days later. Tony had decided that he wanted some journalists from smaller newspapers and of course some from the biggest ones. He wanted to have a fair mix. 

The conference room was filled with dozens of people, journalists and photographers likewise. They all wanted to catch the first glimpse of the Stark daughter. Of course no one would get a picture, Tony wanted to keep her safe and so he had ordered her to stay on the common floor the whole time. The only persons that would talk to the invited guests were Pepper and Tony himself, even if that meant to disappoint the whole room.

Tony was clothed in one of his expensive tailored suits, while Pepper was wearing a tailored Lady's suit, her hair in a thight bun. The woman was standing behind the microphone telling the journalists everything they needed to know, nothing more, nothing less. It all went well, all the journalists asked appropriate and allowed questions. But Tony knew that this wouldn't last, not with his fame. There were always people that would try to denounce him. And like most of the time, he was right. A woman called Rita Skeeter from a real small newspaper called the daily Prophet asked unpleasant questions. Pepper tried to dodge them, but the woman was persistent. Her questions caused the whole room to get quiet. Everybody wanted to hear the answers to her incredible inappropriate questions.

She asked how it is for a young girl to grow up with queers and if she would ever get a female role model that wasn't a spy or someone that was able to manipulate minds. Pepper told her that there were enough people around the girl to make sure she had everthing she needed to grow up surrounded by superheroes. The woman even had the nerve to ask Tony if he was sure that Harriet wasn't only interested in his money, fame and fortune, like a gold digger.

Pepper made sure that everyone in the room knew that Harriet was not interested in anything besides her new family. The mood shift was palpable in the room. 

"Ms. Skeeter, I tell you and everyone in this room who thinks so low about a ten year old child one thing..." she paused and looked at Tony who in return nodded with a grim look on his face. "What this child had to endure before Mr. Stark took her in.. I wouldn't wish that on a snake. And just to let you know, her files are concealed." And with that she turned around and left the stage. Tony followed suit and Happy told the journalists that the conference was over. 

For the first time, Tony was glad that he had made sure that all her files were concealed and all tracks to her former life were obliterated. No one would be able to find out what she really went through and who she was before the adoption. He even made sure that Vernon Dursley would never be able to tell a soul about his niece. The man was now working in one of his bogus firms and the only persons he was able to talk to were some agents from Nick Fury. He was completely monitored by Friday. The man never had any social contacts before and so it wasn't hard for Tony to let him disappear. That were the perks of beeing a superhero and one of the wealthiest men alive.

 

Harriet spent the next weeks with learning, doing homework and hanging out with all of the Avengers. She was aware how the conference went and what the papers had printed about her and most of it was pleasant, only a few scrutinized Tonys motives but after some shitstorms from the public they stopped their articles. 

Then, for the first time since Harriets moving in, the Avengers had to leave the tower to safe the world, again. Harriet was left at the tower with Pepper and Happy to keep her company. 

They were gone for a whole week and Harriet was barely able to keep her emotions at bay. Her nightmares were back and even more vicious than ever. She still had nightmares about her uncle abusing her, but now she had nightmares about loosing Tony and/or Steve and Bucky. And they all were hyper realistic. Harriet would wake up screaming and crying, sometimes not able to breath properly. Friday had to call Pepper every night and two times they had to call a doctor. Pepper knew she couldn't call Tony or the super soldiers during their mission and so she and Happy had to help Harriet through this hard time.

It was late in the evening on the seventh day when they finally returned. They found Harriet on the common floor, curled around one of Buckys pillows and with Tonys comforter around her. She was whimpering in her sleep and Friday made sure to let them know how Harriets week was. But even without Friday, they would have known. Harriet had dark bags under her eyes, she hadn't eaten properly and her skin was deathly pale. They knew she was in that state because she was worried about their safety. They would need to find a solution for future incidents. 

Bucky went over and picked her small form up from the couch. Even with the comforter around her and the pillow in her hands she was lighter than when he had left her a week ago. He held her close to his chest to let her inhale his scent. She visibly relaxed in his grip and her whimpering stopped. Without a word he turned and walked to the elevator. Steve and Tony followed him. He went to his own floor and walked into his shared bedroom, where he laid her down on the bed. The three adults took turns with watching her, while the others went to the bathroom or changed into some more comfortable clothes. 

"I don't want to find her in that state ever again." Tony told the two soldiers while petting her hair. 

"Me neither." Steve told him and Bucky only nodded. 

The two of them sat down on the bed on the other side of Harriet.

"Can I stay here for the night?" Tony asked them and both nodded. 

It was a tight fit, with three adults and the small girl in bed, but they made it till the next morning without another incident. 

When Harriet woke up, she was confused. She knew she fell asleep on Buckys pillow, but his pillow was soft and now she was laying onto something hard but it still smelled like Bucky. She opened her eyes and saw that her head was actually laying on Bucks chest, he had his metal arm wrapped around her shoulder. When she looked around, she saw that Tony was behind her, one arm over her waist. Steve was laying behind Bucky, curled into Buckys other side. 

Harriet squeaked in delight before turning around and throwing her arms around Buckys and Tonys necks. 

"You are back!" Both older men groaned because of the strenght behind Harriets hug. All three of them were awake since Harriets first movement. 

"I missed you so much. I was so worried that something bad had happened. Please never leave me alone." her grip tightened even more and Tony felt like he couldn't breath.

"Need air.." he croaked out and Harriet let got of both men. She sat back and just watched all three men get up, before Tony held his arms open for her to move into. She hugged him and with her safely in his arms he stood up. One arm under her thighs and the other around her back.

"Are you ready to start the day? I think you need one of my special breakfasts today, what do you think?" He asked her. She nodded and then laid her head down on his shoulder, waiting for him to carry her to her own room to shower and to change into fresh clothes. 

Half an hour later all the Avengers and Harriet were on the common floor. Tony was making breakfast with the help of Bruce and Steve. Harriet was sitting in Buckys lap, listening to the adults retelling the happenings of the last days. Most of the mission was top secret, but they told her about the fights they had and that they were successfull. They told her how they weren't able to call her because of the absolute secrecy the mission had. There had been a security leak and they had to find out who it was and who his clients were.

Tony put a plate in front of Harriet. "Eat kiddo, you need it. And I promise you, that one of us will stay with you when we have the next mission. No matter what Fury wants from us."

She looked up at him "Promise?"

"Promise! And now eat, before the big guys steal everything" He told while hitting Clint's hand that was hovering over Harriets plate with a cooking spoon.

Harriet nodded while laughing and began to eat. The others followed suit with their own plates.

She smiled whilst she was chewing on her food, all her beloved heroes were back without injuries. Everything was good again.


	8. A few helping hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only a short chapter, but I wanted to give you at least something.   
> I still have a hard time, but I soon have a few weeks off and I hope I can write some more then. 
> 
> And I have a question for you.   
> Should there be a Harriet/Peter Parker relationship in the future or do you want to read a story without her beeing in a relationship with someone?

Later that day Pepper was sitting on Harriets bed, the girl was laying besides her, her head in Peppers lap. One of Peppers hands was running through Harriets locks. Pepper had thought long about how to approach the topic, but it needed to be done, so she simply asked Harriet if she ever talked with someone about the demons that haunted her at night. When the girl only shrugged her shoulders, she suggested that Harriet should talk to someone professional about her nightmares and about her fears, but Harriet wasn't ready to talk to a stranger about something so personal. So Pepper made her promise to talk with one of the Avengers about it and that is exactly what Harriet did later that evening.

They were sitting on the couch in Tonys own living room. A room that was seldom-used. Like everything else in the Avengers tower this room was decorated tastefully with it's dark leather couches and the cream colored carpets. As this was the highest floor of the tower, the big windows allowed a full view onto the city below.

The sun was slowly setting and Harriet was cuddled into Tonys side with a thick and fluffy blanket over her legs and one of his arms draped over her shoulders. A steaming pot of tea was standing on the table in front of them and the radio was quietly playing some old rock songs in the background.

Harriet talked with Tony about her nightmares, about loosing him or the super soldiers or all three of them. Her biggest fear was beeing alone and without her loved ones or beeing sent back to her uncle. They talked till the tea was cold and then some more. Talking about the nightmares helped and brought father and daughter closer together. He was proud that she had chosen him to talk about everything and not one of the super soldiers. To Tony Harriet was like his own daughter, he couldn't imagine a life without her anymore. And he wasn't the only one, all of the Avengers loved Harriet dearly and they all spent their free time with her. Telling her stories about their lifes before becoming a part of the Avengers or stories about their home countries. Some of them also told her about their own nightmares. They all made the best out of the situation. In the end it took her some more weeks to mostly get rid of the nightmares. 

She also began her training with the adults. Steve took her wih him on his morning runs, he had to hold back while running with her, because she was only a normal and small human after all. But he was impressed by her stamina and she was getting faster each day. Soon she was running his full curse with him, still slower than he was used to, but he had much more fun this way. There wasn't much left from the shy, hurt girl that she was in the beginning. They were good for her and she was good for them. She was like a little sister, he wanted to protect her and lay the world to her feets, but he also wanted to always push her to be her best. 

Natasha worked with her on her self-defence. She showed her the most effective moves against opponents, how to take down even the strongest men and how to keep them in place. She was a fast learner and soon was able to work out on a daily basis. A few times a week Steve and Bucky worked with her on her fighting skills. For such a small thing she sure had a hard blow. Clint had learned that one evening when he had told her to go as hard as she could. He was limping for the rest of the week. 

 

One day, after another day full of learning with her tutors, she was working with the super soldiers.

"Good doll and another round." Bucky encouraged her. 

"Oh-okay." She was slightly out of breath and her hair was clinging to her skin. The shirt she was wearing was already soaked with sweat and was sticking at the skin of her back. But other than that, she was feeling great. Her body was already showing her hard work. The muscles in her arms and legs were stronger now and she was able to work out more each day. She wanted to make the most of her free time. Soon she would go to school and won't be able to work out that much each day. 

After she was done with the round of blows, she heard someone clapping behind her. When she turned around she saw it was Thor. The god hadn't told anyone that he would come back to earth and so no one was prepared for his arrival. He slowly walked over to the three, his hands in front of him to show Harriet that he wasn't a thread. He knew that he needed to apologize again and he also knew that Harriet wouldn't stay in a room with him long enough to do so.

When he was only a few feet away from Harriet, she turned around and tried to leave the room, but her path was blocked by both super soldiers standing there. Both had their arms crossed over their chests and were looking at Harriet expectantly. She looked at them confused and only turned around when she heared Thor coughing behind her. She walked backwards when she saw how close he was to her, but soon her back was against Buckys solid chest, his hands came down on her shoulders. 

"Doll, I think it is time to talk." 

Harriet only shook her head and leaned more into Bucky. 

"Come on sweatheart, we are with you, but you need to work this out." 

Bucky could feel her trembling and heared her suck in a breath before she slowly nodded. 

The four of them walked to the elevator, Harriet stood as far away from Thor as possible in the small space. When the doors opened again, she nearly ran out of it and threw herself on one of the couches, now it was her turn to cross her arms over her chest. They all had learned, that Harriet could be nearly as stubborn as Tony, it had been a long way, but finally Harriet was showing her true self. She was always polite but she would tell them her opinion and sometimes would act like the child she was and not the adult her uncle had turned her into. And all the adults thought that her pouting was simply the cutest thing possible.

"Well, go on, I want to take a shower." Was all she said to Thor, who was now standing next to the soldiers. 

And talking he did. In the end Harriet had accepted his hand and they had decided to start all over and the next time the Avengers had to safe the world, Thor was the one to stay behind and keep her safe.


	9. A bit about the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is super short, but my muse has left me and I am really sorry.   
> This story will not be abandoned, but the updates will take more time. 
> 
> Thank you so much for your nice words and your patience with me.

The end of the summer was approaching fast and Harriet was more than ready to finally go to school. Her tutors were running out of ideas to keep her mind busy. None of them ever had a genius like her as a student. After a long and boring afternoon Harriet decided to do more for her mind and asked Steve about his art. Soon the both of them found a routine and were creating painting after painting. While Steve was painting realistic things or people, Harriet painted what came to her mind and most of it was very colorful and abstract. They even got the other Avengers to attend to one of their art evenings. Bucky wasn't that creative and had more fun throwing paint at Harriet than painting with it on paper. Natashas art was always dark, she only used black, grey, blue and sometimes a really dark red. Tony refused to use a paintbrush and worked on art with unused parts of his prototypes. Bruce was only supervising them, most of the time his mind was occupied with his work. Thor was away again and Harriet wondered, if the god would paint with her.

It was Harriets idea to ask an art gallery to show their works and sell them for a good cause and that was how the "Harriet Stark foundation for the lost" was founded. The main goal of the foundation was working with abused children to help them find their place in the world without pain and fear. There was a whole team working on finding the abused ones, helping them to get away from their abusers and find a better home. Either with other non-abusive family members or with special trained foster families. Tony and Pepper were doing all the media work. Harriet was still too young to handle journalists and their questions. 

Pepper was supervising the new staff, they employed only the ones with the best reputations, but she still looked into each of their records. She also asked Tonks for help and the two women soon worked hand in hand. 

Tonks was glad, that she could work with Pepper and Tony. She couldn't get Harriet out of her mind. Tonks prided herself with how professional she was at work. Never telling anyone about the cases, not her husband and not their mutual best friend. But the girl was on her mind, every day and so she decided it was time to talk to Pepper about it.  
"Pepper, can I ask you something?" She looked at the blonde and waited for her to nod, before she continued. "You know, that I am professional when it comes to the children that I am in charge of." Another nod. "I knew Harriets parents." There it was, she has dropped the bomb. Pepper was speechless for once. 

Pepper opened and closed her mouth a few times, before she finally asked. "How?"

"My husband, Remus and our best friend Sirius went to the same school as Harriets parents. They were in the same year as James and Lily. The boys were inseparable the whole time, Lily joined them later after a fallout with her former best friend. James and Lily were bright, just like Harriet and their future would have been brilliant, but both of them were murdered before they really had the chance to live it." 

Pepper was listening to Tonks, she knew what has happened to Harriets parents and why she was dropped at the Dursleys household. She nodded again, so Tonks continued.  
"Peter, another friend of them.. he was the one who betrayed them. He knew they were working on some inovative things.. please excuse my incomplete knowledge.. and he told the wrong persons about it. The house was raided and the Potters were killed, Harriet was left behind. Remus and Sirius were heartbroken. One of their friends was responsible for the death of James and Lily and they had no chance of gaining custody of Harriet."

"Wow, that is awful. I knew her parents were killed, but not the circumstances. I need to talk to Tony about it."

"I know I have no right to ask for it, but can I tell Remus and Sirius that I have found Harriet? They are both still worrying about her, and it kills me, that I have to stay silent. Sirius is Harriets godfather and while he is a bit reckless at times, he is a good man"

Peppers thought about it, she knew how much the other woman cared about Harriet and having more people looking after Harriet was a good thing. And the three of them could tell Harriet everything about her real parents. Something that neither of the Avengers ever could.

"I don't understand why Harriet was dropped at the Dursleys, when there was a godfather?" Pepper asked.

"Sirius never knew she was dumped at their house. He wanted to be her guardian, but she just disappeared, without a trace. When I found her in Tonys care, I knew she would be happy, even if it meant that Sirius could never meet her."

"I think we should stop our work for today. I will talk to Tony today and I will call you later."

And for the first time that day, Tonks was smiling her at her. The tension was leaving her body immediately. She thanked Pepper and left for the day. 

Pepper sat at the table a while longer, deep in thoughts before she told Friday to send Tony over to her. 

Said man showed up only a few minutes later. He was dressed in one of his old rockband shirts and his hands were covered in oil, the rag he was holding in his hands was doing nothing to get rid of it. 

"Everything alright Pep?" He asked the woman, who was still siting at the table, a frown on her face, the coffee in her mug has gone cold a long time ago. 

"Tonks was here today." She stated.

"Yeah, I know Pep, you are working on the foundation. But I can't see how this got you so affected?" He sat down on the tabletop and laid on of his blackened hands on top of Peppers. 

"She knows Harriet." Tony looked at her, like she had lost her mind. "From before I mean."

"What do you mean?" Tony jumped to his feet and stared at her.

"Her husband and Harriets parents were best friends, before the Potters were killed."

Pepper told Tony about the friendship and how much it would mean to Tonks, if she could talk with her husband and best friend about her. A short while later Tonks was back and they were sitting in one of the conference rooms, talking more about Harriets parents and about Remus and Sirius. Tony asked Friday to check both men but found nothing that would have been worrisome. It was near midnight, when Tony finally decided, that Tonks could tell both men about Harriet. How she was alive and now taken care of. She was not allowed to tell them who Harriet was living with. That would be revealed to them at a later time and only in Harriets own pace.


End file.
